Prayer That Changes Things: A Christian Guide to Victorious Living

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THE NATURE OF PRAYER

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, what-soever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. – First John 5:14-15

FACTS ABOUT PRAYER

Prayer is what happens when we talk to God for the purposes of giving Him praise, or for expressing our needs and desires. There are more than 250 examples of prayer in the Bible. Prayer is essential for victorious living. If you are lucky, you can live your life without prayer. You might be prosperous, but if you are a Christian, you need to pray in order to have a successful, fulfilling life. You need to pray in order to maintain your relationship with God. You need to pray in order to maintain your fellowship with God. You need to pray in order to maintain your communication with God. You need to pray so that God can use you as a vessel. You need to pray so that God can use you to bless somebody else. You need to pray in order to walk in the protection of the Lord. Prayer is a necessity for victorious living.

Daily communication with our creator is facilitated through prayer. Prayer provides the means for us to share life events with the Lord. Prayer gives us an opportunity to acknowledge the blessings of the Most High. Prayer provides an opportunity for us to confess our sin and to ask forgiveness for our transgressions. Prayer fortifies our relationship with God.

One of the disciples asked Jesus to teach him how to pray (Luke 11:1). Jesus instructed When you pray… not If you pray. (Saint Luke 11:2). Then Jesus taught that Men ought to always pray and not faint. (Saint Luke 18:1). The Apostle Paul said that men ought to pray everywhere (I Timothy 2:8). Prayer is an essential practice of Christianity that we must engage in if we are to be true followers of Christ.

ANSWERED PRAYER

God wants to answer your prayer. Answered prayer is God’s idea. Answered prayer is not man’s idea. Man did not come up with this. God conceived the notion of answered prayer. One of the earliest stories about answered prayer is found in I Kings:

And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 1 Kings 17:21-22

God is the one who started us thinking about receiving answers to our prayers because it is his desire for our prayer requests to be granted. The Lord answers prayer. When prayer is not answered, it’s not God’s fault. When prayer is not answered, it could be an indicator that we need to become more disciplined in the area of prayer . Learning how to pray prayers that change things is a sign of Christian maturity and victory.

THE NOMENCLATURE OF PRAYER

In some churches, prayer has become nothing more than an art form, and prayer time has become entertainment time. In other settings, prayer has become a performance. Prayer time has become an opportunity for the person praying to use all of the phrases that are popular with the people; but the prayer does not make things change. Effective prayers make things change. In some churches, people rise up to out-pray others; and still in other churches, people rise up to out- perform others. But I’d rather listen to somebody who can get a prayer through than to listen to twenty thousand prayers that just entertain me.

When prayer is just an art form, it is a people pleaser and a crowd dazzler, but it has no real power. When prayer is just an art form, it entertains, but it does not liberate. Prayer that is an art form pleases people. But when prayer is spiritual, you please God. When prayer is an art form, you touch the people. But when prayer is spiritual, you touch God. When prayer is just an art form, you might know what to do. But when prayer is effective, not only do you know what to do, but you also know how to do it, and you get results from heaven. I’d rather for your prayers to change my circumstances, and I’d rather for your prayers change my conditions than for your prayers to simply tickle my innards. In fact, I don’t want your prayers if all you do is stir me up on the inside but leave me in a mess on the outside. If someone is to pray for me, I want him /her to lead a disciplined prayer life so that his or her prayers will avail much on my behalf (James 5:16). Effective prayers make things change!

A DISCIPLINED PRAYER LIFE

There are important reasons why one should possess a disciplined prayer life. First of all, scripture promises affirmative responses to our prayers when our lives reflect contrition, whole-heartedness, faith, righteousness, and obedience. Some people pray because they want God to give them stuff. However, such self-centered prayer fails to bring glory to God’s Kingdom, and often fails to yield the best result.

Prayer must possess certain spiritual attributes in order to be effective. Prayers must be spiritual in order to reach God. Emotional prayers might not get through. Soulful prayers might not get through. Intellectual prayers might not get through. Common prayers might not get through. God is a Spirit and He not only seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, but He also seeks those who will communicate with Him in the Spirit. Conversely, the spirit of man is the Lord’s candle (Proverbs 20:27). God communicates with us via our spirits.

FERVENT PRAYER

James 5:16 teaches us that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. For fervent prayer to avail much, our earnest, heartfelt prayer must be full of zeal and compassion. The Amplified Bible says that it makes tremendous power available.

There is a dynamic in fervent prayer that many fail to achieve. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed so hard that His sweat was like great drops of blood falling to the ground (Saint Luke 22:44). Fervent prayer is not formula prayer. Formula prayer is cute, pre-planned, and sometimes rehearsed. Conversely, fervent prayer comes from deep within (I Thessalonians 5:23), and possesses your heart-felt passion. Fervent prayer does not have to be loud, but it can get loud if you get caught up in the Spirit. Fervent prayer does not have to entertain, but it is interesting to see somebody get caught up in the Spirit. Fervent prayer is serious and sincere. Fervent prayer is like water that has been heated to its boiling point. When you turn up the heat, the water moves. When you pray a fervent prayer, it will make you move. Fervent prayer makes you hot. Fervent prayer gets results. It avails much. The best kind of prayer is prayer that gets results and avails much. Fervent prayer is a form of prayer that changes things.

When you need significant changes, twinkle, twinkle little star prayer won’t work. Now I lay me down to sleep prayer won’t work. The prayer that changes things occurs when you go beyond the veil to stand before the Lord with your heart open unto Him. It happens when you present yourself unto Him, and cast your cares upon Him. Then you must exercise faith to believe that you have received what you have asked from the Lord. I like what Jesus said in Mark’s eleventh chapter:

…What things ye desire when you pray, believe you have received them, and you shall have them. – Mark 11:24

When you begin to believe that you have received, your prayer approaches fervent status.

UNSCRIPTURAL PRAYERS: IMITATING OTHERS WHEN WE PRAY

In many instances, association causes assimilation. That means that we take on the characteristics and behaviors of others with whom we are in close proximity. Often, we find ourselves doing things that others in our environment do because their behavior makes subliminal impressions upon us, and we tend to replicate their behavior in our own personal settings. Sometimes people who pray publically tend to imitate others who also pray publically, and become a part of a succession of folks who pray prayers that do not change things.

Sometimes, the prayers we hear others pray are unscriptural. Unscriptural prayers are prayers prayed that have no scriptural basis. Unscriptural prayer is wrong, wrong, wrong. Unscriptural prayer sabotages correct prayer and itself needs to be nullified. Unscriptural prayers can sometimes turn into performance prayers. Performance prayers rely on the reaction of the crowd to gauge success. If the folks like certain prayer phrases, they are incorporated into successive prayers again and again over a period of time, because they bring a good reaction. It is important, however, that we control what comes out of our mouths (unless praying in the spirit), and it is more important to please God than to please others who hear our prayers. It is best to pray God’s Word, because the Word does not generate a void return (Isaiah 55:11, paraphrased).

UNSCRIPTURAL PRAYERS: DESTINATION

Let’s discuss where your prayers go after you pray. Hebrews 12:2 tells us

look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne

Jesus is in heaven. He hears our prayers and goes to God on our behalf. Jesus is not on the cross. He went from the cross to the grave. Then He rose from the grave and visited the upper room. After the resurrection, He walked the earth as a resurrected man until He ascended up into heaven. Now He is with the Father. The last thing He said before he ascended is you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you (Acts 2:8). Then He was taken up into the clouds.

When we pray, we look to Jesus who is at the right hand of God’s throne. We do not look to Jesus on the cross. He’s not there. He endured the cross, but He ascended up to heaven and he is now in the throne room of intercession. We have to make sure that our prayer reaches the correct destination. The destination for our prayer is God’s throne in heaven – not the cross. It might sound good to say Jesus I see you up on that cross looking down upon me, but look again, and stop saying something you heard somebody else say. Jesus is not on the cross. And if you are sending your prayers to the cross instead of to the throne, your prayers are going to the wrong destination!

UNSCRIPTURAL PRAYERS: DOES GOD REALLY SAY NO?

Another prayer paradigm is the belief that sometimes God says ‘no’ when He answers prayer. Believing that God says no to our prayers opens the door for us to accept defeat before our prayer escapes our lips. Lord, I know you say no sometimes, but please answer my prayer if it be your will. This background belief causes one to pray in doubt.

First John 5:14-15 tells us This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything (not something, but anything) according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petition that we desire of Him. If it were true that God says no sometimes, and our prayer was not answered, it would either mean that the Lord did not hear us, or that our prayer was not according to His will.

ASKING ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD

It is important to ask according to the will of God. If we pray His will, He hears us and we have what we pray. We know the Will of the Lord by knowing God’s Word. His Word is His Will. When we pray the Word, we pray according to His Will.

Isn’t it amazing? There are people who live in failure and defeat because they thought God might say no, so they prayed timidly and in doubt instead of praying effectively and fervently. The truth of the matter is that they didn’t pray right (according to God’s Will), and the Lord did not grant their petition. Then when their prayer was not answered, they said I guess God said no, because they could not explain it. Well…

If you pray right, the answer is always yes! When you pray right, you are supposed to get a yes answer every time – not sometime, but every time. Through Christ, the promises of God are yea (Second Corinthians 1:20).

Can you imagine how your life could be if every prayer you prayed was answered yes? Pray God’s Will by praying The Word, and God will answer your prayer every time. Beloved, let’s make up our minds to pray prayers that change things every time we pray!

ALL THINGS IN PRAYER

Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hun gered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disci ples saw it they marvelled saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, what soever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

-Saint Matthew 21: 18-22

The pericope (story) of the cursing of the fig tree appears in Matthew and Mark. In Mark’s gospel, the event occurs over a period of two days. Jesus cursed the tree for being unfruitful, and for deceptively giving the appearance of having fruit. Normally a fig tree bears its fruit first, and then the leaves begin to appear. Some trees bear fruit three times within a season. Often, a tree will have fruit ten months out of the year. A fig tree that is full of leaves offers the assurance that hunger will be satisfied. A fig tree that has leaves and no fruit is like a fraudulent imposter that offers a false promise of nutrition. A hungry Jesus found a tree that should have had fruit, but instead it was barren.

Symbolically, the tree represents Israel. Israel was a nation who was supposed to be giving, productive, and nurturing. The religious heritage of Israel professed piety and exhibited outward forms of righteousness; but inwardly Israel’s people were deficient in the area of faith in Christ as Messiah. The Israel of Jesus’day professed faith in God, but denied the Son of God.

Jesus’actions foretold that judgment would indeed come to Israel because of her empty faith declaration and her rejection of the true Messiah. Chronologically, Saint Matthew’s version of the barren fig tree is also coupled with Saint Mark’s version of Jesus cleansing the temple.

Jesus cursed the barren tree on His way to Jerusalem, and drove thieves out of the temple after He arrived there. In Saint Mark’s version, Jesus arrived in Israel on what we call Palm Sunday. There was profound fanfare and celebration at the beginning of the week on Sunday, but by the weekend on Friday, the crowd wanted to crucify Him.

While Israel is the focal point of the story, the curse pronounced by Jesus is said by some to extend beyond the fig tree and the wayward nation of Israel to the Christian community. It serves as a warning to Christians whose lives are fruitless. The tree tells Christian people that we should bear spiritual fruit, and not just masquerade in the form of godliness. If we have a good relationship with Christ, abide in Him, and let his Word abide in us, we